Donald Trump Rejected by Mark Zuckerberg After President Teases Him About His 'Political Career'

Donald Trump hosted a powerful group of tech giants at the White House’s State Dining Room on Thursday, September 4, where he fielded a variety of inquiries from reporters sitting directly across from him and his many billionaire guests.

In attendance, and situated next to him, was Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who was questioned by a journalist on his opinion of the U.K. censoring online content.

“And Mr. Zuckerberg, if you don’t mind answering, how concerning is that to you? The lack of freedom of speech online in the U.K.?” the reporter asked.

Puzzled, yet composed, Zuckerberg expressed his shock as Trump spoke over him, saying, “You didn’t think you’d get that question, did you? He’s saying, ‘How did I get that question?’”

As the room filled with laughter, the president motioned to the tech genius, telling him, “If you’d like to answer, free speech.”

“Sorry, I actually wasn’t paying attention,” Zuckerberg joked before the reporter reiterated their question.

Trump quickly interjected himself into the conversation, telling Zuckerberg, “This is the beginning of your political career.” To which the mega-billionaire promptly rejected the president by responding, “No, it’s not.”

As silence crept into the room, Trump made the moment a little less awkward by voicing his own opinion on the U.K.'s crackdown on online censorship.

“I will just say that in terms of U.K., strange things are happening over there,” the president answered. “They are cracking down, and surprisingly so, and I’ve spoken to the prime minister, and let’s see what happens. But it is a little bit different situation; I’m very surprised to see what’s happening.”

According to CNN, Zuckerberg told Trump he wasn’t prepared to answer a question during their meeting. When reporters left the State Dining Room, the tech CEO told the president, “Sorry, I wasn’t ready.”

Nonetheless, Zuckerberg expressed praise to the president during their meeting, thanking him for investing in the future of AI and technology.

“Well, thanks for hosting this. And this is quite a group to get together,” Zuckerberg said. “And I think you know all the companies here are building huge investments in the country in order to build their data centers and infrastructure to power the next wave of innovation.”

Zuckerberg even pledged to donate at least $600 billion from his company over the next three years to invest in boosting the evolution of AI in the United States.